It suggests building the new interchange at Canal Road in between Emigsville Exit 24 and Strinestown Exit 28. A decision on that would affect recommendations for other traffic improvements for the area.

The list of improvements, however, come with a nearly $300 million price tag, according to Will Clark, chief of transportation planning for the York County Planning Commission. Planners are going to have to look for outside funding sources, such as grants, to help pay for the work.

Because of the costs and variety of options, transportation officials will schedule a meeting with the Canal Road Coordinating Committee to discuss the study, the proposed improvements and the goals in moving forward, said Jephrey Rebert, a senior planner with the York County Planning Commission. The results will be shared with the York Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.

The Canal Road committee includes Manchester borough, East Manchester, Manchester and Conewago townships and business leaders. It is looking at traffic issues and potential improvements for Canal Road.

The study offers short-term improvements, too, such as upgrading traffic signals and roadway and ramp improvements.

"The big thing for this is getting funding in place," said Ben Singer, a senior project manager with the state Department of Transportation.

New Canal Road interchange (Exit 26)

A full or partial interchange could be constructed at Canal Road. The possibility has been talked about for years because of industrial growth in the area.

A full interchange would help reduce the improvements needed at the Emigsville and Strinestown exits. Passenger vehicles and tractor-trailers would use Canal as a more direct route instead of using other roads.

Because of budget and construction constraints, however, an incremental approach might be needed.

With a full interchange, other improvements needed would include replacing the I-83 bridge over Canal Road, widening Canal to two lanes in each direction with a separate left-turn lane, and dual left-turn lanes along with a right-turn lane at the end of the southbound off-ramp.

Emigsville interchange improvements (Exit 24)

The Church Road bridge will need to be replaced with a wider span to provide additional lanes and shoulder width, the study states.

Additional traffic lanes are recommended along Church between the Susquehanna Trail and Board Road. However, what's recommended depends upon whether no interchange, a partial one or full interchange is built at Canal.

New design at Strinestown (Exit 28)

A single-point urban interchange has been proposed with or without a new interchange at Canal. The southbound and northbound ramps would meet at a single intersection in the middle of the interchange. The intersection would be controlled by a traffic light.

The proposal also calls for widening the bridge over I-83 for additional lanes between the ramp intersections.

Widening the highway

The study says that widening I-83 to three through-lanes in each direction would "significantly improve overall mobility." In nearly 30 years, the traffic demand on the highway is expected to exceed the available capacity.

The pavement is reaching the end of its service life and in some areas may soon begin to deteriorate.

An open house is planned for early 2019 to give the public more details on the progress of the plans, Singer said. The project will likely be broken into phases, and construction on the first one could start in 2022.